Srinagar : An Amarnath pilgrim from Haryana came to the fold of Islam at Sonamarg hill resort in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. He is said to have undergone this change of heart following his disenchantment from his previous faith caused by the melting of the Shiv Lingam at the Amarnath cave shrine.
The melting of the Shiv Lingam for the past few years at the Amarnath cave shrine has been an agonizing event for most of the devotees, who make the arduous trek to the shrine. The ice lingam at the Amarnath caves used to remain frozen for months in the previous years but extreme changes in climatic conditions have made it impossible for the phenomenon to continue.
Parveen Sharma arrived at Baltal base camp enroute to Amarnath, 100 kms from Srinagar, and straightway drove to nearby Sonamarg hill resort where he expressed his desire to embrace Islam at the local Jama Masjid during Friday prayers, reports said citing official sources here.
They said he was administered 'kalimah' (faith) by the local imam who also gave him the Muslim name Sheikh Iqbal. Later, he was taken around in the main market in a procession and garlanded.
This is for the first time that any Hindu devotee, who had come to pay obeisance at the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, has embraced Islam.
Lingam and Yoni in Sanskrit means the male and female sexual organs respectively. Hindus are allowed to worship anything - including sexual organs. It is not unknown for them to name their children as Shiva Lingam (God Shiva's sexual organ) or Rama Lingam (God Rama's sexual organ), (in some places in Karnataka, the gods demand both male and females to pray naked together).
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks